You’ve finally convinced the team that a company retreat is a good idea. Bravo! No small feat, but the tricky part is making sure your retreat isn’t just three days passive-aggressive eye contact during strategic planning sessions. You’ll want a meaningful company retreat, the kind where people stop acting like carefully curated LinkedIn profiles and start showing up as actual humans. Which brings us to the goal: open and honest conversations.
Here’s how to foster the kind of dialogue that actually gets stuff done without putting your team to sleep.
Step One: Set the Tone Early (Preferably Not with an Icebreaker That Makes Everyone Cringe)
Look, no one wants to go around the circle listing their spirit animal or confessing their karaoke go-to. You’re not hosting summer camp.
Instead, start by setting a tone of trust and transparency before anyone even packs their bag. Let your team know that this retreat is about growth, collaboration, and real talk, not corporate jargon and finger-pointing. Let them know it’s okay to speak up, to ask tough questions, and to be a little vulnerable.
And yes, if you really must do an icebreaker, make it something low-pressure and actually fun. Like “What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had?” or “What’s a completely useless skill you’re secretly proud of?”
Step Two: Get Offsite and Into the Woods
There’s something magical about getting out of the office. It’s like people remember how to breathe again. At Sugar Lake Lodge, you’re surrounded by pine trees, fresh air, and 400+ acres of peace and quiet that practically demands people stop checking Slack every six seconds.
Nature has a way of lowering defenses. And when the WiFi signal isn’t quite as strong as the loons calling across the lake? Even better. People open up when they feel relaxed, and it’s hard not to relax when you’ve just had fresh walleye for lunch and you’re staring out at a glittering Minnesota lake.
Step Three: Bring in a Facilitator
You might be the boss. You might be incredibly charismatic. You might even be a former debate team champion. But you are not the best person to lead your own company’s open conversations.
Enter the retreat facilitator. These magical people are trained to read a room, navigate group dynamics, and ask the kind of questions that spark meaningful discussion, not just the ones that make people nod politely and check their phones under the table.
At Sugar Lake Lodge, we work with expert facilitators who specialize in leadership development, strategic planning, and conflict resolution. They know how to make people feel heard. They know when to push and when to pivot. and they know how to keep things moving without pulling out a pie chart every five minutes.
The result? Honest conversations. Productive disagreements. Insightful moments. Laughter. A few aha’s. Maybe even a breakthrough.
Step Four: Make Space for Everyone’s Voice
It’s always the same five people talking in meetings, right? Well, not anymore. A company retreat is the perfect opportunity to level the playing field and make space for everyone’s voice. This should include the quiet thinkers, the new hires, and the ones who usually sit at the far end of the conference table like they’re in a witness protection program.
Create smaller breakout groups. Mix up departments. Use interactive tools like sticky notes, whiteboards, or even a digital collaboration platform if you must. Encourage participation by making it feel safe and low-pressure, not like you’re about to pop quiz someone on the mission statement.
Step Five: Add Some Fun to the Agenda
Want people to open up? Feed them well, make them laugh, and give them a chance to try something new. Sugar Lake Lodge isn’t just for meetings. It’s for fishing, golf, canoeing, hiking, bonfires, lawn games, and more.
These shared experiences build camaraderie, and that makes it easier for people to share their honest thoughts during group discussions. Don’t underestimate the power of a spontaneous paddleboat race or an evening of cornhole with a cold drink in hand.
Step Six: Encourage Honesty by Modeling It
Leaders: this one’s for you. If you want your team to be open and honest, you need to go first. That doesn’t mean you have to spill your deepest secrets or recite your quarterly failures in sonnet form. It does mean showing some humility, admitting when you don’t have all the answers, being curious. and listening more than you speak.
When people see their leaders being real, they feel safe enough to do the same. Vulnerability breeds trust. Trust creates honest dialogue. Honest dialogue fuels progress.
Step Seven: Close the Loop with Clear Next Steps
Open and honest conversations are great, but only if they lead to something. Otherwise, they’re just campfire confessions that vanish with the smoke.
Make sure every big conversation ends with a plan. What’s the takeaway? Who’s responsible? When’s the follow-up? Write it down. Share it. Make it real.
We can help facilitate those final sessions, too, so your team leaves not just refreshed, reconnected, aligned, and ready to move forward.
Talk It Out. Then Tee It Up.
Most companies need more honest conversations, but that doesn’t mean you need to lock your team in a conference room with bad lighting to get there.
At Sugar Lake Lodge, you’ll find the right mix of natural beauty, thoughtful facilitation, and actual fun. This creates the perfect environment for meaningful dialogue that leads to real change.
So go ahead. Plan that retreat. Get your team out of the office and into the woods. Bring in a facilitator. Light the bonfire. Ask the big questions. Laugh a lot. Eat well. Have the kind of conversations that remind everyone why they love what they do, and who they do it with. Then hit the golf course, because you’ve earned it.
Get in touch with us today to talk about your next company retreat!